Trademark Guidelines

General Rules of Proper Trademark Use

Use as Adjectives:

Trademarks should be used as adjectives – not as nouns or verbs. Accordingly, a trademark should not be used alone. Rather, a trademark term should always be used with, and immediately precede, the generic noun that describes the product or component in question.

Avoid Possessives:

Since a trademark is not a noun, the possessive form should be avoided. For example, one should refer to “the benefits of XDR™ technology” or “XDR™ technology’s benefits” rather than “XDR’s benefits”.

Avoid Plurals:

Since a trademark is not a noun, the plural form should be avoided. For example, one should refer to “XDR™ devices” rather than “XDR’s”.

Avoid Verbs:

Since a trademark is not a verb, they should not be used as such. For example, one should not “Rambus-ize” or engage in “RDRAMing”.

Company Name Use:

The Rambus name is not only a trademark used to identify our technology, components and services, it also serves as our company name. When using the Rambus name as a reference to the company, Rambus may be used as a noun and no “®” symbol is needed. For example, in a press release, the following use would be proper:

“Today, Rambus announced a new generation of memory technology.”

Guidelines for Proper Trademark Attribution

Trademark ownership is generally attributed in two ways:

1. With a trademark legend, usually found at the end of a document (minimum 8pt type) following the copyright notice
2. By use of a trademark symbol (™, ®, SM) after the actual trademark. (Please see the table below.)

Trademark Symbols:

Many of the Rambus Trademarks are registered in the US and abroad. When referring to Rambus Trademarks, the “™” or “®” symbol should be used properly. The appropriate symbol is placed immediately after the trademark in superscript font (e.g., ™ or ®). If the specific characters are not available in the word processing software being used, then using the symbols in parenthetical form is also acceptable (e.g., (TM) or (R)). The following guidelines are for use in determining when a trademark symbol is required.

Most Prominent Uses:

A trademark symbol is required for all prominent uses of the mark (e.g., titles of documents, headlines, labels, packaging, marketing collateral, signage, website promotion, brochures, data sheets, press releases, advertising, etc.) except where space or style criteria prevent compliance with this requirement.

First Use in Text:

A trademark symbol is required on the first use of the mark in any text or body copy, even though the symbol may have already been used in the headline or other prominent use.

All Logos:

Trademark symbols are required for all Rambus logos. Original artwork should be obtained directly from Rambus Inc. If the original artwork provided by Rambus does not contain a trademark symbol, then one is not required.

Trademark Legends:

Rambus Trademarks used in written text should be attributed in an appropriate trademark legend.

The legend should be presented in a typeface of at least 8 point size. It generally appears at the end of a document or on the back of a package, but it may be placed elsewhere (e.g., the front inside cover of documentation, or the bottom of a web page).

Rambus uses a standard trademark legend that does not change except to add marks that are referenced in specific text. The following standard Rambus legend can be used in all materials referencing Rambus Trademarks:

“Rambus, MicroLens, RDRAM, CryptoFirewall, FlexClocking, FlexIO, FlexLink, FlexMode, FlexPhase, LabStation, LightBlade, Mobile XDR, Pentelic, SolidCore, TruEdge, VirtuOptic, XDR and the Rambus logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Rambus Inc. in the United States and other countries. Rambus and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.”

This legend can be modified to include only the Rambus Trademarks used in a specific piece of documentation, marketing collateral, or any other use requiring attribution of Rambus Trademarks.

Examples for Rambus Trademarks Use

• Rambus® technology
• Rambus® memory controller
• Rambus® DRAM

• RDRAM® technology
• RDRAM® device

• XDR™ module
• XDR™ DRAM

Guidelines for Use of Rambus Trademarks

Certain uses of Rambus Trademarks are permitted for Rambus partners, developers and other third parties. Unauthorized use of Rambus Trademarks or of marks that are confusingly similar to Rambus Trademarks may constitute an infringement of Rambus Trademark rights. The following guidelines govern the use of Rambus Trademarks.

Proper references to Rambus-based products and services in documentation, marketing collateral, press releases, articles and websites are acceptable, so long as the Rambus Trademarks are used properly as adjectives and are used with the proper trademark symbols and legends as discussed in the General Rules of Trademark Use and Guidelines for Proper Trademark Attribution sections of this document.

Please refer to the list of Examples for Rambus Trademarks Use above.

Use of Rambus Trademarks in Names of Companies or Product Names:

Unless a third party has entered into a written technology license or agreement with Rambus, Rambus Trademarks may not be used in all or part of any company or product name. Please contact the Rambus Trademark Department for further information or guidelines. For use of Rambus Trademarks for the purpose of marking specific products, please see the Product Marking Guidelines section of this document.

Use of Rambus Trademarks in Product Related Documentation:

Use of Rambus Trademarks in “Product Related Documentation” includes, but is not limited to the following: data sheets, white papers, catalogues, presentations, and other Rambus-specific product related documentation.

Use of Rambus Trademarks in Marketing Collateral:

“Marketing Collateral” includes, but is not limited to the following: product information “slicks”, print advertisements, brochures, trade show signage, sales information packages, presentations, and any other media generally related to product marketing.

Use of Rambus Trademarks in Public Relations Materials:

“Public Relations Materials” includes, but is not limited to the following: press releases, ads, articles, and other materials generally related to Public Relations activities.

Press Releases:

If your company is planning to issue a Rambus technology-related press release, please contact Cori Pasinetti in the Rambus Public Relations Department at [email protected].

Any use of Rambus Trademarks or logos in marketing collateral should be accompanied by the appropriate trademark legend as described in the Guidelines for Proper Trademark Attribution section of this document.

Websites and Domain Names

Proper use of Rambus Trademarks on websites to accurately describe Rambus products and technology is permitted. The following guidelines apply.

The use of the Rambus Trademark(s) should not be misleading or likely to cause confusion as to whether the website is sponsored by or affiliated with Rambus, or whether the technology or products are offered by Rambus.

Any principal or secondary level domain name should not be identical to or virtually identical to any of the Rambus Trademarks.

The website owner should not register any domain name containing a Rambus Trademark or service mark and should not claim any trademark or similar proprietary rights in the domain name.

The website should display a legal notice (a link is OK) that contains the following legend. This legend can be modified to include only those Rambus Trademarks being used on the website.

“Rambus, MicroLens, RDRAM, CryptoFirewall, FlexClocking, FlexIO, FlexLink, FlexMode, FlexPhase, LabStation, LightBlade, Mobile XDR, Pentelic, SolidCore, TruEdge, VirtuOptic, XDR and the Rambus, Cryptography Research, DPA and Pentelic logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Rambus Inc. in the United States and other countries. Rambus and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.”

The website should otherwise comply with domain name registry policies and current laws regarding trademark infringement and dilution.

For any questions, please email [email protected].